Notifications Efficiency, Impact, and Interference in Second-Screen Scenarios

ABSTRACT The growing use of second-screen devices stresses the importance of finding a balance between engagement, distraction, and disturbance of its users, while simultaneously watching television. In this framework, this article reports on a study designed to analyze the efficiency, impact, and interference of different notification strategies aiming to identify the best approach to be used when an alert is needed in second-screen scenarios. A prototype able to deliver synchronized information related with TV content, with intervals of 10, 30 and 60 s, followed by individual or combined notifications (e.g., audio, visual, and haptic—on the tablet and visual—on the TV) was developed. A laboratory adapted to replicate a living room was set up and a test that involved watching three segments of a 20-min clip while using the prototype was carried with 30 participants, under a cognitive walk-through protocol. Quantitative and qualitative results show that receiving notifications while watching TV is effective in alerting users about new information, despite its inherent cognitive disturbance for the TV viewing experience. It was also possible to highlight that in an HCI perspective, the most suitable strategy for integrating notifications (considering type and cadence) should be based on a combination of a visual notification (displayed only on the TV screen) along with a haptic notification (vibration on the tablet); spaced by an interval of at least 30 s.

[1]  Shekhawat Yahoo Labs.  The Future of Second Screen Experience , 2013 .

[2]  Fahim Kawsar,et al.  The myth of subtle notifications , 2014, UbiComp Adjunct.

[3]  Otmar Scherzer,et al.  The effect of cinematic cuts on human attention , 2014, TVX '14.

[4]  Eric Horvitz,et al.  Notifications and awareness: a field study of alert usage and preferences , 2010, CSCW '10.

[5]  Jatin Srivastava,et al.  Media multitasking performance: Role of message relevance and formatting cues in online environments , 2013, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[6]  Michael E. Holmes,et al.  Visual attention to television programs with a second-screen application , 2012, ETRA '12.

[7]  Robert P. Hawkins,et al.  What Produces Television Attention and Attention Style , 2005 .

[8]  Radu-Daniel Vatavu,et al.  Visual attention measures for multi-screen TV , 2014, TVX '14.

[9]  Brian P. Bailey,et al.  If not now, when?: the effects of interruption at different moments within task execution , 2004, CHI.

[10]  Allen E. Milewski.  Interruption Management and Telephone Call Screening , 2006, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact..

[11]  Brian P. Bailey,et al.  Oasis: A framework for linking notification delivery to the perceptual structure of goal-directed tasks , 2010, TCHI.

[12]  Gabi Schaap,et al.  "TV no longer commands our full attention": Effects of second-screen viewing and task relevance on cognitive load and learning from news , 2014, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[13]  Teresa Romão,et al.  From the lab to the world: studying real-time second screen interaction with live sports , 2014, Advances in Computer Entertainment.

[14]  John M. Tchernev,et al.  The “Myth” of Media Multitasking: Reciprocal Dynamics of Media Multitasking, Personal Needs, and Gratifications , 2012 .

[15]  Jorge Ferraz de Abreu,et al.  Viewer behaviors and practices in the (new) television environment , 2013, EuroITV.

[16]  Konstantinos Chorianopoulos,et al.  Delegating the visual interface between a tablet and a TV , 2010, AVI.

[17]  Jung-Hyun Kim,et al.  Media multitasking between two conversational tasks , 2013, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[18]  Andy Brown,et al.  HCI over multiple screens , 2014, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[19]  Jatin Srivastava,et al.  Media Multitasking and Role of Visual Hierarchy and Formatting Cues in Processing of Web Content , 2010 .

[20]  Takahiro Tanaka,et al.  Interruptibility Estimation Based on Head Motion and PC Operation , 2015, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact..

[21]  LingBei Xu,et al.  Impact of Simultaneous Collaborative Multitasking on Communication Performance and Experience , 2008 .

[22]  Wayne G. Lutters,et al.  Interruptive notifications in support of task management , 2015, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[23]  Alireza Sahami Shirazi,et al.  Large-scale assessment of mobile notifications , 2014, CHI.

[24]  Volker Wulf,et al.  Understanding and supporting cross-platform usage in the living room , 2012, Entertain. Comput..

[25]  Nitya Narasimhan,et al.  Descrambling the social TV echo chamber , 2012, MCSS '12.

[26]  Duncan Rowland,et al.  Who is on your sofa?: TV audience communities and second screening social networks , 2012, EuroITV.

[27]  Karen Renaud,et al.  "You've Got E-Mail!" ... Shall I Deal With It Now? Electronic Mail From the Recipient's Perspective , 2006, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact..

[28]  Gianmarco,et al.  The Future of Second Screen Experience , 2013 .

[29]  Pablo César,et al.  The implications of program genres for the design of social television systems , 2008, UXTV '08.

[30]  Mary Czerwinski,et al.  Introduction: design and evaluation of notification user interfaces , 2003, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[31]  David Geerts,et al.  In front of and behind the second screen: viewer and producer perspectives on a companion app , 2014, TVX '14.

[32]  Crysta J. Metcalf,et al.  FANFEEDS: evaluation of socially generated information feed on second screen as a TV show companion , 2012, EuroITV.

[33]  John T. Stasko,et al.  Establishing tradeoffs that leverage attention for utility: empirically evaluating information display in notification systems , 2003, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..